George Osborne must get the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds train route back on track when he makes his Budget speech next week.

We want him to make a firm commitment to completing the project as planned after the shock announcement last week that it was being shelved.

And we also want a pledge that London’s Crossrail 2 won’t take priority over this vital component of the Northern Powerhouse.

Our call for action is being backed by rail passengers, business leaders and Greater Manchester politicians of all parties – including the entire ‘super council’, the region’s interim mayor and MPs from across the political spectrum.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin triggered fury and disbelief last week when he announced an indefinite ‘pause’ was being put on the scheme - which would have overhauled one of the most overcrowded routes in the country.

Rail users took to Twitter in outrage under the hashtag #northernpowercut in the aftermath of the blow.

The fiasco – blamed on disarray within Network Rail – is said to have left the chancellor Mr Osborne furious. But it also led many to question the government’s commitment to the 'Northern Powerhouse’ vision, coming as it did just weeks after the general election.

We now believe it is time for the north to take a stand.

An unbelievable 92pc of transport infrastructure cash is already being spent in London and the south east – yet northerners are still being crammed into slow, second-hand carriages on outdated lines.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council and a major figure in driving forward the region’s devolution deal with the chancellor, said: “If the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds line isn’t reinstated immediately then the northern powerhouse is at real risk of being dead before it even gets going.”

The £260m project was announced in 2011 and was due to be completed in 2017.

As part of £4bn in upgrades, it aims to boost capacity on routes between Manchester and Leeds, including a First Transpennine Express service that sees one in three people standing on the busiest rush hour trains. The scheme also aims to cut journey times by up to 15 minutes.

(Image: Mark Waugh)

But even before the election, there was some suggestion its timetable might slip – and in the weeks that followed polling day its completion was put back to 2019.

Mr McLoughlin said major problems within Network Rail meant other projects had run over time and budget, while the electrification scheme itself needed more work than had originally been expected.

He announced there would be a ‘pause’ put on both the Manchester to Leeds project and the scheme between London and Sheffield. He said a better scheme would be drawn up - but there remains no indication of a timetable and many fear the project will be kicked into the long grass.

Yet upgrades to the Great Western line between London and the west would remain a ‘top priority’, he said. Meanwhile, pressure is building in London for the £20bn needed to build the second phase of CrossRail, running north to south through the capital.